WNBA star rookie from Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark, was left out of the team USA Summer Olympic roster for the upcoming 2024 Paris Games and Jamel Herring isn’t happy about it. Poised to bring home yet another gold medal, Clark has failed to make the team despite her popularity and how she has managed to elevate WNBA TV ratings off late. 

In a conversation with a flock of reporters on Sunday, Fever head coach Christie Sides said Clark told her, “Hey coach, they woke a monster”. The move especially seems unjustified since Clark, on Friday night, scored 30 points in 39 minutes playing against the Washington Mystics. Her performance peaked when the Indiana Fever rookie scored seven 3-pointers to lead her team to a 85-83 win. 

Jamel came into the picture when an X user accused Dawn Staley, Jennifer Rizzotti, Seimone Augustus among others for keeping Clark off the roster. Responding to the tweet, a user wrote, “They are envious of the white girl”. So, seeing this unfold on his X timeline, Herring wrote, “I blame the media at this point… majority weren’t watching the league til yesterday”.

Herring is coming off a split decision loss at the hands of Jackson Jon England in 36ers Arena, Adelaide, Australia. While he handled his loss pretty well, he could not handle the injustice that Clark had to face after discovering the news. While Herring blames the media, FOX Sports broadcaster Tim Brando, during his appearance on the OutKick’s ‘Hot Mic’ labeled the move as “one of the dumbest business decisions ever made”. Meanwhile, Clark herself has spoken about what many analysts and fans are calling a deliberate snub. 

Caitlin Clark isn’t disappointed

After the roasters were officially announced, Clark spoke to a bunch of reporters, probing her for a reaction on the matter. However, despite getting sidelined, the most promising WNBA rookie maintained her composure as she spoke highly about the 12 selected for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic team. 

“I’m excited for the girls that are on the team”, said Clark to the flock of reporters surrounding her. Recognizing the uncertainty of securing a spot in the most competitive team on the global scale, Clark claimed she will be cheering for her team to get the gold when the action begins on the polished wood court in Paris. ‘CC’ further added that she wasn’t disappointed with the decision, instead she claimed it will give her motivation to work harder and do better to make the team next time. 

Having said that, Jamel Herring seems to be taking the news of Clark’s snub harder than Clark herself. However, the underlying question is, did Caitlin Clark really get robbed of the greatest opportunity of her career? If yes, who could be behind it and why?